Tuesday, October 30, 2007

It was the third Ribby for me, but what was unusual was the yarn it was made from. First of all, it came from an indie yarn painter I’d met at my first fiber fest. Secondly, it was the first time I’d asked someone to handpaint something just for a project I was dying to make…

Over the three years I’ve been wearing this sweater (3 yrs! a good reason to knit yer own…) the hemp/wool yarn has gotten even softer and more comfortable. The only glitch was one that eternally plagues me: the sleeves. I like my sleeves to be the correct length and these were a tad short from the very beginning, but I was in denial.

There’s been lots of projects over the years where this Denial Factor creeps in; sometimes it’s better to just move along. Other times, even years later, it can be fixed!

The Catalyst: our little building of three families decided to have our windows washed this month. The requirements by our WindowMan was to take out screens (yikes! I’m on the high second floor!) and move furniture away from the windows. He was unable to place ladders outside so was going to perch on the sills and do the deed.

To accomplish this, I had to wade through my office and start moving things and it led to first, mass hysteria on my part when I realized what a mess it was; and second, it was the Muse’s Fickle Finger of FATE wagging in my face telling me to streamline and TRY and get it together…

In moving all the stuff around, I found a small ball of Hemp/Wool from long ago. The Muse smiled as I split the ball (I measure the yarn out in *yards* using the length of my arm to my chin